First "Official" Shoot

Dionysus

that wasn't for family LOL. I thought I couldnt get into this, that portrait work would be a bear..something I HAD to do to fund my equipment for nature photography, where my true love is. But, it turns out that I now LOVE portrait work, after this shoot. I love the different set of challenges it poses over landscape photography. Landscapes are patient, you can take your time with them...the trick is finding the perfect time. Portrait work seems to challenge you to MAKE those moments...to be always ready for those everyday moments that come and go in a heartbeat. It seems to force you to always be ready, and trains your reflexes. Anyway, hopefully you like them as much as I do. These are my favorites below.

This was a mother and daughter. It was a dual purpose shoot. The mother was going in for surgery, and wanted "before" pics..and was really self conscious about her appearance, so it was a challenge in PP to hide things she wouldnt like. I had to constantly work at flattering angles, etc. And the second purpose was for just a mother/daughter shoot, since it had been years since their last.

After I was done, she said she cried, because there wasn't one photo that she could say she was embarassed about..that she would proudly display all of them..and that no other photographer has managed to capture them as people and their relationship like I did. As you can imagine, that was the greatest compliment she could have given me on my virgin effort. I must admit I got teary eyed that she was so affected by the results.

















there's more that I liked from this shoot, but for some reason these are the only ones I uploaded to my Flickr. If you want to see the other 40 something photos:

http://www.studio4115.com/Portraits/Artibee2009/The-Artibees-2009/10160714_y5WXW#699064929_QLtaS

Fstoplife

Love them! Especially 1 & 3 and the last one, amazing! Great captures, I can see how she would love them, she is beautiful.

Darren Troy C

Love #s 2, 5, and the last. The only thing that bothers me about the last is that the DOF is so small, it caught her eyebrows, but not her eyes. Her pupils look a little soft.

Dionysus

thanks all...ya the last one is off just by a hair, but its minor enough that the average person doesnt notice. but i definitely noticed it when i was processing. just couldnt pass it up w/ the eye color.

sweet caroline

Beautiful set! That little girl is just gorgeous.

Caroline

Scott_Quier

First, C&C is easier if you number the images

Your subjects are suffering a bit from "raccoon-eyes." Do a little research and practice re fill flash.

You've got some very nice interaction between Mom and daughter - that is so hard to do sometimes and you got it here in spades!

For me, the pick of the litter is #7. Again, a little flash work would have lightened them a bit against the very bright back-lighting, but this is still a keeper. For next time, I think composing the shot with a bit more room around it would be a good thing. This one is going to be hard to frame.

On #8 is a wonderful idea and you almost got it. The focus is on her eyebrows and her nose and just misses critical focus on her eyes by >< that much. Her left eye is almost there, but her right eye is pretty much OOF. I think stopping down a stop or two on the lens would have solved the problem nicely!

Dionysus

Thanks for the tips, I'll definitely do some research on the point you mentioned and try to bring it over into the next shoot. I'm always looking to improve, and I know some of these had some flaws technically, that I hope to overcome the next time. I need a diffuser for my flash...part of the reason I didn't use it is because it was too harsh straight on, and nothing to bounce it off of. any suggestions...i was looking at the Fong Light Spheres.

Thanks again.

rhondavid

Very nice series. Looks like a great relationship between Mom and daughter and is shows in these shots. Lots of great connection there. They seem to have related to the camera well too. Little girl is just precious.

Love the last shot too but like others have pointed out just a tad off on the focus. Wow what great eyes she has. Would have loved to have seen them in nice sharp focus.

Good job!

kidzmom

These are fabulous! You did a superb job for a first time shoot. WOW! I love the colors they chose for the shoot also...and that scarf with the green eyes is to die for! I also agree that having that one OOF eye is frustrating but it is a great capture none-the-less. Thanks for sharing!!!

Dionysus

thanks all..they were a little stiff at first, but i worked at softening them up and relaxing them, by cracking joke after joke, until they couldnt stop laughing at one point. And while they were laughing or cracking a smile, that's when i went to work.

my sense of humor finally came in handy for something.

Photosbychuck

Great Series

My fav is #2.


Take Care,
Charles

Mohamed.Ghuloom

Fantastic shots. i even looked at the gallery and let me say, the pictures toke me to another world. I kept staring at them and smile.

I have this comment about the last pic which seems others had too. The focus is more on the nose than the eyes. You could lock the focus on the eyes. It always makes your portraits more beautiful.

Dionysus

Mohamed.Ghuloom wrote:

Fantastic shots. i even looked at the gallery and let me say, the pictures toke me to another world. I kept staring at them and smile.

I have this comment about the last pic which seems others had too. The focus is more on the nose than the eyes. You could lock the focus on the eyes. It always makes your portraits more beautiful.

thanks everyone..ya i know i missed the focus just a touch, and it made me really mad, because that picture had such great potential...when i took it, it looked like i nailed it on the lcd..so i didnt bother to take anymore..which i regret

BriShay

They are all great but i LOVE that last one!

Quincy T

Dionysus wrote:

thanks all..they were a little stiff at first, but i worked at softening them up and relaxing them, by cracking joke after joke, until they couldnt stop laughing at one point. And while they were laughing or cracking a smile, that's when i went to work.

my sense of humor finally came in handy for something.

I'm really glad to see, and hear, that you are able to create these astounding shots, and actually have profit from literally the exact same gear I have. This is a great motivator for me to go out and begin working on things I might not have pursued before.

Awesome shots man. This is thread is inspiring haha.

Dionysus

aww, thanks..but im nothing more than a beginner. The only thing I know I can do well is sensing when the smiles and moments are coming, and being ready for them. but i'm learning still day by day, just like most people here. my next shoot is with my wife.